2009 Theatre Puget Sound Gregory Awards will be announced tonight

October 19, 1:22 PMSeattle Theater ExaminerRosemary Jones

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Hanna Lass, one of the actresses nominated for a Gregory, as Ariel.
photo courtesy of Seattle Shakespeare

The first and hopefully continuing Theatre Puget Sound Gregory Awards will be presented tonight. Named for Gregory Falls, local theater giant and founder of ACT, the awards mark a new and consistent attempt to honor performances, performers, and the companies who give them a home. Theatre Puget Sound likens these to the Drammys in Portland, OR, or the Jesses in Vancouver, BC.

The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. tonight (October 19) at the Intiman Theatre. Tickets are still available for $25 at the door.

And the nominees (all deserving of applause) are:

Nominees for Outstanding Actor: Hans Altwies, Charles Leggett, MJ Sieber, Paul Morgan Stetler

Nominees for Outstanding Actress: Kimberly King, Hana Lass, Amy Thone, Billie Wildrick

Nominees for Outstanding Director: Kurt Beattie, Julie Beckman, John Langs, Allison Narver

Nominees for Person To Watch: Vincent Delaney (Playwright), Etta Lilienthal (Set Designer), Don Darryl Rivera (Actor, Musician), Robertson Witmer (Sound Designer, Musician)

Nominees for Outstanding Production: The Adding Machine (New Century Theatre), The Elephant Man (Strawberry Theatre Workshop), Eurydice (ACT), The Seafarer (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Nominees for Theatre of the Year: ACT, Intiman, New Century Theater Company, Strawberry Theatre Workshop

After voting closed on September 30, Theatre Puget Sound determined the top write-in candidate to honor with a TPS Members' Voice award. This award will go to Brandon Ryan (outstanding actor), Terri Weagant (outstanding actress), Sheila Daniels (outstanding director), Scott Warrender (person to watch: interestingly inspired by the revival of Warrendar's earlier show Das Barbecu earlier this summer), Village Theatre (outstanding theater), and The History Boys (outstanding show).

Also being honored for his thousands and thousands of photos of local shows is photographer Chris Bennion. Almost anyone writing about theater or reading about it in Seattle knows Bennion's work. He began photographing local theater and other performance arts in 1973 when his friend Margaret Booker asked him to photograph shows at Intiman, a theater she had just started. Tonight, Bennion will receive the 2009 Gregory A. Falls Sustained Achievement Award.